Many business users employ groupware clients (e.g., Microsoft Outlook®, Lotus Notes®, etc.) for collaboration and communication. Business users may also utilize business applications for implementing business processes, such as but not limited to the applications of SAP Business All-in-One®. Such business applications typically execute within a business application platform having a dedicated user interface.
Some business application vendors currently provide various degrees of integration with groupware clients. This integration may enable the transmission of particular business information between groupware clients and a business application platform. Conventional integration, however, is unable to efficiently provide groupware clients with timely information from different information sources and having independent update cycles.
For example, an application platform may manage certain business information which corresponds to and can be represented by a groupware object (e.g., an appointment, a task, a contact). Such “groupware” information may be encapsulated in a corresponding groupware object and exchanged with a groupware client using known systems.
An application platform may also manage context information that is related to such groupware information. An example of context information is a factsheet including background information of a particular customer. This context information may be related in the application platform to all appointments representing a visit to the particular customer. A conventional system may attach such a fact sheet to a groupware object representing an appointment with the particular customer, and transmit the groupware object (with attachment) to a groupware client. The appointment is assigned to a calendar of the groupware client and may be accessed to view the factsheet when needed.
The appointment groupware object and the factsheet are stored local to the groupware client. If the appointment is updated within the business application platform, the platform may provide a corresponding updated groupware object to the groupware client. The updated groupware object may also include a most-recent version of the factsheet.
However, the update cycles of the groupware object (i.e., the appointment) and the context information (i.e., the factsheet) are independent of one another. More specifically, the factsheet may be updated within the business application platform even if the appointment is not updated. In such cases, the factsheet which is stored locally and in association with the appointment groupware object is not up-to-date.
A groupware client may be enhanced so as to retrieve context information (e.g., a factsheet) from a business application platform each time a corresponding local groupware object (e.g., an appointment) is accessed. In addition to software enhancements, this approach requires online connectivity and increases latency. Connectivity and latency issues may be addressed by a rich client application utilizing a framework (e.g., SAP Mobile Infrastructure®) that provides periodic synchronization with a back-end system. Such a client application would not provide the cost and usability benefits of a standards-based groupware client. Moreover, the client application would typically require installation of a database to store master data within a local persistence as well as a component for managing access to the database.
Systems are desired to efficiently provide groupware information and associated context information to a groupware client. Such systems may address the independent update cycles of such information and may also provide efficient access to such information.